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Gary center under new management

Published by Rachel Willis on Tue, 05/08/2018 - 9:19am

Patricia Lankford

Job Corps

Staff Reports

The nation’s largest Job Corps center is under new management. Gary Job Corps formally came under the management of ResCare Inc. on May 1. Formerly, the center was managed by Management Training Corporation (MTC).

“I am totally dedicated to the success of the young men and women in the Job Corps program. I set high expectations for the staff and the students to accomplish their goals,” Patricia ‘Patty’ Lankford, new center director, said. “I firmly believe in service to the community and I plan on continuing the relationship that the Gary center has established with the local community.”

ResCare, Inc. was founded and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and says it is dedicated to impacting communities for the better with a mission to help people live their best lives. As the largest diversified health and human services provider in the U.S., ResCare is the largest private provider of services to people with disabilities, the largest privately-owned home care company, the largest provider of specialized high-acuity neuro-rehab in community settings and the largest career center workforce contractor in the U.S.

A product of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Job Corps program was initiated by Sargent Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family who ran many of President Lyndon Johnson’s social programs. Shriver modeled the Job Corps on the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, which provided room, board and employment to thousands of unemployed people.

Gary Job Corps Center was founded in 1964 on the grounds of what was Gary Airfield, which serviced helicopters during World War II. It opened on March 4, 1965. In November of that year, Johnson made an announcement to his alma mater, Southwest Texas State University (present-day Texas State University), telling his audience: “I would like to establish a Job Corps camp to train between 1,000 and 2,000 young men in the skills which will make it possible for them to contribute to the prosperity of the community, and to ultimately become leaders of their fellow men.”

Currently, some 1,200 young men and women attend Gary to pursue a variety of vocational and professional fields.

Langford comes to Gary Job Corps with 17 years of experience, 10 years as a center director, and positions in finance and accounting with ResCare Inc.

Most Recent Poll

The inclusion of a Craddock Avenue extension through environmentally sensitive land in a presentation on the city's Transportation Master Plan at Tuesday's city council meeting raised questions.

The potential extension, that would extend Craddock to Lime Kiln Road and Interstate 35 on a route above Sink Creek, is listed as a conservation corridor in the thoroughfare plan.

There currently are only two routes that connect traffic between Interstate 35 and areas west now – Wonder World Drive and through downtown. The Craddock Avenue extension would divert the traffic that is moving through downtown to other areas, but could present some potential environmental issues.

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, or CAMPO, started a regional arterial study in the middle of last year and when it is finished, it could show potential alternatives to the Craddock extension that CAMPO would be interested in funding.

The council is set to vote on the Transportation Master Plan on June 5.

Yes, it would ease traffic downtown sooner.

No, it's an environmentally-sensitive area and the city should wait for CAMPO options.